Anniversary of an Odyssey

A year ago last week I started a new position and a new life in Park City, UT.  Unbeknownst to me, my move was a bad one.  I won't get into the gory details, but the company had made a move right before I got there which made me incredibly expendable.  I was treated horribly, and suffered a lot out there on my own.

Without the support system of my wife and family, it was brutal.  Likewise, my situation made me question myself - my judgement, my skills, and my worth.  It was a lonely nightmare.  Looking back on it now, it is clear to me that the company did not know what to do with me, so they pushed me to quit.  Crappy circumstances all around.

In my first weekend there, I went for a hike up a mountain to clear my head.  It was only two miles, but it was 2,000 vertical feet, and I was left gasping.  

Here was my reward at the top:

At the mountain top I was exhausted, but inspired, and I broke out into the longest session of prayer that I ever had.  I asked God to just put me where He wanted me, and I'd oblige.  If that was Utah, OK.  But it didn't feel right, so if His plans were for something different for me, I'd listen, have faith, and walk the path.  I just needed the nudge.

In short order, I got my answer, and things quickly feel into place for a very clear path back to the Midwest.

I think about that hike a lot, especially at mass when the reading involves climbing of a mountain (which happens a lot there).  That's where so many have gone to get closer to and  converse with God.  

I don't count myself in the company of those Bible greats by any stretch.  All I know is that when I climbed my mountain, He heard me, and He answered me.